More than 500 people gathered for the Moon Autumn Festival celebration at the New York Chinese Scholar’s Garden at Snug Harbor Cultural Center and Botanical Garden on a beautiful Saturday, September 14.
The Autumn Moon Festival is one of the most important holidays in the Chinese calendar and is celebrated on the 15th of the Eighth lunar month. The festival features a round cake, which symbolizes the moon and family and friends get together to have dinner.
At the event, CSI Associate Professor of Philosophy Dr. Andrew Lambert led a tour outlining the symbolic meaning of the New York Chinese Scholar’s Garden. Prof Yu Tsui Lin, a former CSI Chinese language instructor, held a calligraphy workshop with her former students. CSI alumnus Brandon Torres; CSI students Miguel Wu, Regan Su, and Baoying Wu; and the Center for Global Engagement’s Melanie Thompson and Winnie Brophy helped with riddles and shared information about CSI with attendees. Prof. Lin also conducted a moon cake workshop with colorful Play Dough, which was popular with the youngsters in the audience .
In addition, lantern-making workshops were hosted by members of the Japanese Visual Cultural Club (JVCC) Teresa Juarez Moran and Lisette Hernandez as well as Josh Caluya of the Philippines American Society (PAS).
The afternoon also featured harmonica playing, traditional dances, opera singing, storytelling, crafts,and a luncheon, and the day concluded with a lion dance.
The Autumn Moon Festival couldn’t have been as successful as it was without the involvement of our CSI community as part of the wider group of participants.
The Center of Global Engagement promotes the internationalization of academic life at the College of Staten Island in order to foster an awareness of the interdependence of nations, the value of diversity, and the importance of international understanding.
By Winnie Brophy
